FDA approved a Treatment Option for COVID-19
Thursday, October 22, 2020.
US regulators on Thursday approved the first drug to treat COVID-19: Remdesivir, an antiviral medicine given to hospitalized patients, administrated through an IV.
The drug, which a California-based company is calling Veklury, cut the time to recovery by 5 days — from 15 days to 10 on avg. — in a large study led by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
It was authorized for use on an emergency basis since the spring of 2020, and now becomes the first drug to win full FDA approval for treating COVID-19.
US President Donald Trump, received it when he was sick earlier this month (October 2020).
The average time to recover when given Remdesivir, can be as low as 5 days; which means the length of illness a person might feel in the case that they contract Covid, is less then the average common cold.
The largest out of pocket expenses an individual can expect to pay for the treatment, at the hospital, has been reduced to around $3,000 to $4,000, with variance depending on location and severity, not including hospital expenses.
Following its emergency approval, the drug’s manufacturer, priced Remdesivir in the US at $520 per dose for patients who have private insurance, with some government programs getting a lower price.
With the course involving a double-dose the first day, the total comes to $3,120 for the five-day treatment course.
According to a fact sheet issued, possible side effects of Remdesivir include:
* Allergic reactions, including serious reactions, during and after infusion.
* Increases in levels of liver enzymes, which may be a sign of inflammation or damage to cells in the liver.
These are the possible factors in the worst case scenario.
With this stated, the preliminary concerns from the 2019 viral cycle regarding Covid 19, no longer seem to be applicable at the current time in October 2020.
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